The 22nd Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival will take place in Warsaw between March 16-30, 2018.
During the 15 days of the festival, 13 symphony concerts, 3 chamber concerts and 2 piano recitals are planned. The invitation of Elżbieta Penderecka, general director of the Festival, has been accepted by music stars such as violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, pianists: Krystian Zimerman, Rudolf Buchbinder, cellist Steven Isserlis, conductors: Christoph Eschenbach, Lawrence Foster, Leonard Slatkin, Cristian Măcelaru, JoAnn Falletta, David Afkham and excellent national and international philharmonic ensembles, including Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, and Junge Deutsche Philharmonie.
The 22nd edition of the Easter Festival in a special way will accentuate the 100th anniversary of regaining independence by Poland, celebrated in 2018. The programme of the concerts will include both the greatest works of Polish music literature interpreted by world-renowned musicians, as well as outstanding Polish young pianists standing at the threshold of international careers: Szymon Nehring, Krzysztof Książek, and Łukasz Krupiński. The festival programme will also mark the great music anniversaries in 2018 – the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, the 85th anniversary of the birth of Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, the 125th anniversary of the birth of George Gershwin.
The Easter Festival will be inaugurated by the Warsaw Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk, who will lead the Symphony No. 3 of the patron of the festival and, together with Krystian Zimerman, will perform the 2nd Symphony "The Edge of Anxiety" by Leonard Bernstein. In the final concert we will hear Stabat Mater by A. Dvořák under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach, with outstanding soloists: Genia Kühmeier (soprano), Michelle Breedt (mezzo-soprano), Steve Davislim (tenor) and Mikhail Petrenko (bass).
The main concerts of the festival will be complemented by regular accompanying events: the Exhibition of Musical Manuscripts at the Jagiellonian Library and the International Scientific Symposium, as well as piano master classes conducted by Dmitry Alexeev.
Detailed programme is available at: http://beethoven.org.pl